Northern Colorado Bears vs Idaho Vandals Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Colorado Bears vs Idaho Vandals

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: ICCU Arena in Moscow, ID

TV: ESPN+

The Idaho Vandals (16-13) welcome the Northern Colorado Bears (18-11) at ICCU Arena on Saturday.

The Northern Colorado Bears took the court against Eastern Washington and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 82-72 in their last game. Northern Colorado finished the game with a 50.9% FG percentage (29 of 57) and buried 5 of their 20 3-pointers. From the free throw line, the Bears made 9 of their 13 attempts for a percentage of 69.2%. Regarding getting rebounds, they compiled 23 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 15 dimes in the matchup while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 5 steals. In reference to defense, Northern Colorado let their opponent shoot 56.6% from the field on 30 of 53 shooting. Eastern Washington doled out 14 dimes and had 9 steals in this game. Moreover, Eastern Washington grabbed 26 rebounds (5 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Eastern Washington ended up shooting 83.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 20 of 24 attempts. They also converted 2 of 11 tries from distance. With respect to fouls, the Bears ended up with 18 and Eastern Washington recorded 13 fouls.

Quinn Denker is a guy who came through in this matchup. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the field and also totaled 8 assists. He saw the court for 34 minutes and snagged 2 rebounds. He totaled 19 points on 8 of 16 shooting.

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Northern Colorado will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 18-11 on the year. They are turning it over 11.3 times per contest and as a squad are committing 18.1 fouls every game. As a team, Northern Colorado is collecting 36.5 boards per game and has accounted for 491 assists on the campaign, which is 31st in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Bears are hitting 36.1% on three-point attempts (278 of 770) and 75.4% from the free throw line. They average 82.4 points per contest (53rd in the country) while connecting on 49.3% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Bears are forcing their opponents into 9.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.6 personal fouls. They are 3rd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 284 relinquished this season. The Bears are allowing a field goal percentage of 44.9% (778 of 1,733) and they surrender 31.4 rebounds per contest as a unit. They concede 30.6% on 3-pointers and they are 261st in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (76.9).

When they last played, the Idaho Vandals took home the win by a final score of 78-58 against Northern Arizona. When discussing rebounds, Idaho permitted Northern Arizona to snag 21 in total (3 on the offensive glass). They shot 41.2% from beyond the arc by going 7 of 17 and finished the game at 11 of 15 at the free throw line (73.3%). The Vandals allowed Northern Arizona to bury 20 of 52 attempts from the field which had them shooting 38.5% in this matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Vandals finished 30 for 57 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 52.6%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, Idaho converted 12 out of their 21 tries (57.1%). They were able to make 6 of them for a rate of 54.5%. Northern Arizona was called for 12 fouls for the matchup which got the Vandals to the free throw line for 11 attempts. They turned the ball over 8 times, while earning 5 steals in the matchup. The Vandals were able to collect 27 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 35 in this game.

Jackson Rasmussen pitched in for the Vandals in this contest. He converted 8 out of 15 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and earned 7 rebounds. He recorded 19 points in his 30 mins of playing time and accumulated 1 assist for this contest.

Idaho has a win-loss record of 16-13 so far this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Vandals are connecting on 45.1% from the field, which ranks 190th in the nation. Idaho has totaled 2,297 pts on the campaign (79.2 per game) and they average 37.0 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.1 times per game (247th in college) and they cough up possession 11.0 times per contest. The Vandals have committed 18.6 personal fouls per game while shooting 74.2% from the charity stripe.

The Vandals on defense are ranked 173rd in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 73.4. They have forced 11.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.5% from the floor (139th in the nation). The Idaho defense gives up 35.1% on shots from distance (216 of 616) and their opponents are knocking down 73.8% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 11.9 dimes and 33.2 total boards per game, which is 64th and 106th in those categories on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northern Colorado

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